Tascosa beats Monterey in District 3-5A opener

No, the Monterey junior and her teammates were more disappointed in what they couldn't do against mighty Tascosa in both teams' volleyball District 3-5A opener at the Monterey gymnasium.

The Lady Plainsmen struggled with their service returns and the Rebels took advantage, exploiting soft spots in Monterey's defense and pulling away with a 15-3, 15-6 victory.

''We had trouble with our serve-receive, and that got us down real fast in that game,'' said Trew, who finished with four digs and three kills. ''But we came back and really played with them. Tascosa's a really good team, and I think we played really well against them, but we can do better.''

Trew was accurate on both accounts. The Rebels, a state semifinalist a year ago, entered the contest with a No. 3 ranking and looked every bit of it in the first game. Tascosa (22-3 overall, 1-0 District 3-5A) scored five of the game's first six points and extended its lead to 11-2 behind six straight points from Kate Neeley.

However, the Lady Plainsmen (14-5, 0-1) regrouped in the second game, and gave the Rebels a solid showing before finally bowing out.

''Attitude-wise, there was no problem at all,'' said Monterey volleyball coach Wilma Langdon. ''The kids just got off to a slow start and Tascosa served the ball many, many different ways. It's the first pass, whether it was a free ball or serve-receive, we just couldn't get a hold of the first pass. Once we got that first pass, then we competed with them.''

While the Rebels cruised in the opener, they found the going a little tougher in the second. Monterey took a quick 2-0 lead following a block by junior Kristen Bartley, and locked in after Tascosa came back to tie it at 2-2.

Both teams buckled down defensively, trading numerous sideouts. Senior Ashley Dickerson tallied several kills during the stretch to return the serve in the Lady Plainsmen's favor, while Trew and senior Cherrie Turner also put away shots.

However, Tascosa broke the game wide open behind the serve of senior Audra Scharbauer and the attacking of senior Megan Moore. Scharbauer served the Rebels to nine straight points, including a trio of aces, while Moore hammered home four kills during the stretch.

When Monterey finally got the serve back, it trailed 11-2.

''We just had to settle down a little bit,'' Tascosa volleyball coach Brandi Cantrell said. ''We had some different kids in the lineup. I think it just took us a while to get on track.''

After that, the Lady Plainsmen could get no closer than 12-5.

Dickerson paced the Lady Plainsmen with eight kills, 11 digs and six assists, while Turner finished with nine digs. Stormi Harvey added six digs, five assists and three kills, while Kari Jo Simmons contributed seven digs.